Palomino Valley General Improvement District
Recall of Trustee Thomas Baker
Unofficial Results
For Recall: 217
Against Recall: 103
Updated 5/4/2024
Argument for Recall
Thomas Baker, as a newly-elected trustee of the Palomino Valley GID, accepted
the nomination and subsequent election to president of the board, when he was
totally unqualified and inexperienced. As president, and against the advice of legal
counsel, he blatantly violated the open meeting law. The attorney subsequently
resigned.
Mr. Baker, as president, stated there was a new “regime” and “get used to” it.
“Regime” implies a dictatorship. The voters of this Valley do not elect dictators or
kings.
Mr. Baker spearheaded the termination of the contract with the long-time, highly
knowledgeable Assistant to the Board, without any regard to the detrimental
consequences that action would have on the PVGID. The contracted bookkeeper
had already quit due to the ongoing turmoil created by the new “regime,” and the
replacement bookkeeper resigned because there was no one left to train her.
Mr. Baker’s lack of knowledge and unwillingness to ask questions or seek training
on the fundamentals of serving on a government-regulated board is inexcusable.
His reckless actions resulted in the loss of the contract workers who handled all
the financial and administrative work for the PVGID. It is imperative that the head
of the new “regime,” Thomas Baker, be recalled.
Argument against Recall
At the beginning of my second meeting as President I was threatened by three
employees that if I didn’t step down, they would quit. I came to realize the GID was
being run by the employees and not the duly elected Trustees. I decided to make
the necessary changes to bring the GID into compliance with Nevada law. The
GID was being run by a woman in North Carolina. The website was owned by her
husband. The GID did not even have a mailbox the Board could access. Only the
employee could say who could access the mailbox. I have hired a Bookkeeper and
Assistant to the Board who both live in the Valley. The GID has its own mailbox. I
was able to get a grant for the security cameras to protect the GID’s equipment at
the yard. Policies are being put in place where needed to meet state and federal
requirements. I have successfully completed Open Meeting Law, Ethics and
Governance training. I also have decades of heavy equipment experience. Going
forward I plan to continue to provide a valuable service to the Valley and continue
to learn what our Valley needs and provide it.